


Home for the Holidays

by teej_318



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Christmas, F/M, Happy Ending, Holidays, M/M, Mike Wheeler Loves Will Byers, Slightly sad but mostly happy, Will Byers Loves Mike Wheeler
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:34:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28245489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teej_318/pseuds/teej_318
Summary: Will Byers has returned home for the holidays and is anxiously waiting for the arrival of his boyfriend, Mike Wheeler. But things may not go exactly as Will planned.
Relationships: Established Jim Hopper/Joyce Byers, Established Jonathan Byers/Nancy Wheeler - Relationship, Established Will Byers/Mike Wheeler - Relationship, Will Byers/Mike Wheeler
Comments: 3
Kudos: 18





	Home for the Holidays

**Author's Note:**

  * For [paladinscleric](https://archiveofourown.org/users/paladinscleric/gifts), [mikeswill](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mikeswill/gifts).



Will hurried over to his phone, which was on the nightstand next to his hotel room bed charging. It was Christmas Eve and Will was getting ready for the night. Jonathan and Nancy were hosting his family and all of his friends for Christmas at their home in Hawkins. Will had flown to his hometown a few days earlier from Washington D.C., where Will's boyfriend Mike was flying in from. Mike had to write a handful of speeches and conduct some final business before he flew out to Hawkins to join Will for Christmas. Will had had some reservations about flying alone back home, but he understood that Mike had a job to do; Mike worked in the White House and he was lucky to get a few days off from work in order to spend Christmas with Will and everyone else back home. 

Will picked up his phone and saw that Mike was calling him.

"Hey, baby, did you make it to the airport?" Will asked.

"I did, Will," said Mike, sounding off to Will.

Will frowned.

"Is something wrong, Mike?"

"My flight was delayed, Will," Mike said. "I might not be able to make it in time for Christmas with everyone."

Will's heart sank.

"Oh no! What happened?"

"There's been a delay due to some bad weather we're experiencing here in DC," Mike said. "A lot of flights are being delayed because of the weather and some are even getting canceled. I asked the clerk at the desk and she's pretty sure my flight won't get canceled, but there's no guarantee I'll get in on time. I'm so sorry, Will."

Will didn't respond and instead pressed the home button on his phone. He went to the Internet and looked up news from DC and sure enough, he found news about an unexpected snowstorm causing flight delays and cancellations. 

"Will? Are you there?" Mike asked.

Will closed out of the Internet and held the phone back up to his ear.

"I just saw the news," Will said, tears starting to form in his eyes. "I knew we should've just stayed home for Christmas this year. I had a bad feeling about coming home."

"I'm sorry, Will," Mike repeated. 

"It's not your fault, Mike," Will said. "I just hate spending Christmas away from you. I don't wanna celebrate if it's not with you."

"I'll be there as soon as I can, Will. I promise."

"Okay, Mike."

"And Will?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you. I love you so much."

"I love you too, Mikey," Will said, smiling in spite of the negative feelings he was having. 

"I'll be home as soon as I can, Will. I promise."

"Talk to you later, Mike," Will said before he hung up the phone. 

Will then dialed his brother.

"Hey, Will, what's up?" Jonathan asked.

"I don't think I'm gonna be able to make it tonight, Jonathan," Will said, not wanting to mince words.

"What are you talking about, Will? Everyone is gonna be here tonight. Even Mike is coming!"

"I don't think Mike is coming," Will said. "His flight has been delayed and it might even be canceled."

"Oh no, that's too bad," Jonathan said. "We were all looking forward to seeing him."

"I know," Will said. "I'm so disappointed that he won't be home for the celebration tonight. And I don't really feel like celebrating if he's not there."

"Will, come on," Jonathan said, sounding insistent. "You can still celebrate Christmas even without Mike being there."

"That's just the thing, Jonathan. It won't feel like Christmas without Mike there. I know we had all those years apart from each other, but ever since we got together, we've always been together at Christmas. I don't like him not being home for the holidays."

"So you're just gonna sit in a hotel room all by yourself and sulk?" Jonathan asked, somehow not sounding chastising to Will. "Come on, Will. You don't have to be miserable and you certainly don't have to spend Christmas Eve alone. Just come on by and hang out with the family and when Mike gets here, one way or the other, you two can still spend time together and celebrate Christmas with each other."

Will sighed.

"All right, Jonathan," Will said. "God, did Nancy ever tell you that you're the king of nagging?"

"Nagging?" Jonathan repeated, laughing. "No, Will, this is called 'persuading.'"

"Whatever makes you sleep at night, big brother," Will said. "All right, I'll be over to the house tonight to celebrate with everyone. You're right; I don't have to spend Christmas Eve alone just because Mike won't be here. And who knows maybe the weather in D.C. will clear up and he'll get here earlier than he thinks he will."

"That's the spirit," Jonathan said. "Now just be here a little before 6 and we'll have dinner with everyone." 

"See you then."

* * *

Will knocked on the front door of Jonathan and Nancy's home. He only had to wait a few seconds before the door opened and Jake stood in the doorway.

"Hi, Uncle Will!" Jake exclaimed, hurrying forward and pulling Will into a hug.

"Hey, kiddo," Will said. "Merry Christmas Eve! It's good to see you!"

"Everyone else is already here," Jake said excitedly. "Grandpa Jim and Grandma Joyce just got here too."

"Well, show me the way, Jake," Will said.

Jake turned around and led Will through the living room and into the dining area, where everybody was gathered. As soon as Jake and Will entered the dining room, Joyce turned to Will, beaming.

"Hi, sweetie, how are you?" Joyce asked, hugging her son.

"A little bummed out that Mike isn't here, but I'm okay, Mom," Will replied. 

"I'm really glad you changed your mind and decided to come, Will," Joyce said. "We're all gonna have a good time tonight."

"I hope so," Will said with a smile before he turned to greet El and Max, who had walked up to them. 

Will spent the next few minutes catching up with the girls and with Dustin and Lucas before Nancy announced that dinner was ready and that everyone should start getting food. 

While everyone else was getting up, Jonathan hurried over to Will and whispered into his ear.

"There's a surprise for you in the living room, by the Christmas tree, Will," Jonathan said. "You should go and see it before we eat."

Will frowned at his brother, who grinned at him. He turned to look at his friends, who all shrugged at him and started in toward the food. Will saw Jake was standing off to the side and seemed to be watching Will like a hawk. Will walked over to his nephew.

"Jake, what's going on?" Will asked. "Everyone seems to know what's going on but they're all acting weird."

"You'll just have to see, Uncle Will," Jake said. "I think you're gonna love your surprise."

Will turned away from his nephew and walked out of the dining room. He slowly walked to the living room, unsure of what to expect. When he looked at the tree, Will almost had to do another take.

"Mike!" Will shouted.

Mike was standing next to the Christmas tree, grinning widely at Will.

"Hey, Will," Mike said in an amused tone.

"Did you flight end up leaving on time?" Will asked.

"Well, I wasn't exactly honest with you in that regard," Mike said. "I actually flew in yesterday before the storm hit. President Harris let us leave early for Christmas, so I caught a flight yesterday."

"You liar!" Will exclaimed, hurrying forward and pulling Mike into a hug.

Mike chuckled.

"Well, I was only slightly lying to you, Will," Mike said. "I was at an airport, but I was picking up Dustin from the airport."

"Why the big surprise, though?" Will asked.

"Well, I wanted you to be surprised to see me," Mike said, breaking apart the hug. "And it's because I had something important to ask you."

"What is it?" Will asked.

Instead of answering, Mike got down on one knee. Will felt his breath hitch in shock for a moment. Mike took one of Will's hands in his own and looked up at Will with love in his eyes.

"William Byers, do you remember the day we met?" Mike asked. 

Will nodded, unable to speak any words for fear of bursting into tears. 

"It was the first day of kindergarten," Mike said. "I knew nobody. I had no friends. And I just felt so alone and so scared. But I saw you on the swings and you were alone too. You were just swinging by yourself and I just walked up to you and I asked...I asked if you wanted to be my friend. And you said yes. You said yes. It was the best thing I've ever done."

At that, Mike pulled out a ring box from his pocket. He opened up the box and held it up to Will.

"Will Byers, you are the best part of my life," Mike said. "Me approaching you and asking you to be my friend all those years ago was the best thing that ever happened to me. And I want to continue my life with you, forever. I love you so much. Will Byers, will you marry me?"

"Yes!" Will cried out as the tears were flowing down his face. He surged forward and leapt into Mike's embrace. 

Will and Mike hugged and they broke apart when they heard cheering coming from the side. Will looked over and saw all of his family and friends cheering loudly for him and Mike; Jake was even holding up his phone like he were recording the whole thing.

"You all knew about this?" Will asked.

"Course we did, Will!" Dustin said.

"Mike swore us all to secrecy," said Lucas.

"And he wanted us all to be here for it," said El.

"So that's why he made you think he wasn't coming, so he could surprise you," said Max.

"Are you surprised, Will?" Joyce asked.

"Of course I'm surprised!" Will exclaimed. "And I'm so happy right now. All I wanted this Christmas was to be home with my family and I got what I wanted and everything more. My heart is so full."

Will turned to Mike and kissed him.

"I love you so much, Mike."

"I love you, too, Will. I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you."

"Neither can I." 

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you all enjoyed this!
> 
> This story is my submission for Day 7 of the Byeler Holiday Bash on Tumblr and is a sequel to my previous story, My Favorite Christmas Ornament. Thanks to [@frogfaceandzombieboy](http://frogfaceandzombieboy.tumblr.com) for hosting the bash for two years now; I hope it continues in the years to come!
> 
> Happy Holidays, everyone! Stay safe and have fun!


End file.
